Al Pacino’s Buenos Aires one-man show leaves one woman cold

He was given a standing ovation by a full house at Buenos Aires’ Teatro Colón on Friday and Saturday night, but one high-profile member of the audience was distinctly unimpressed by An Evening with Al Pacino.

“It was horrible,” Norma Aleandro told Argentinean radio station La Once Diez on Monday. “I put up with it for 50 minutes and left while he was still talking nonsense. There were people there who had paid $1,000. The Colón was packed. I was embarrassed to watch somebody up on stage making fools of us all,” added Aleandro, one of the country’s leading film and stage actresses, who starred in the 1985 film about the Argentinean military dictatorship The Official Version, which won the Oscar for the Best Foreign Language Film. She was also nominated for an Oscar in the Best Supporting Actress category for her role in the 1987 movie Gaby: A True Story.

Both nights attracted politicians, actors and celebrities

An Evening with Al Pacino was touted as one of the highlights of the year in Buenos Aires, and saw Pacino begin the evening with clips from some of his films, followed by an interview with Argentinean male model and actor Iván de Pineda in which the Hollywood legend discussed his career and personal life.

“As an actor he is somebody I love a great deal, but you mustn’t confuse that with him as a person,” said Aleandro, adding: “People gave him a standing ovation when he came on stage. And then he began telling these anecdotes that weren’t particularly interesting. It’s a shame to just come and tell a few stories,” she said referring to another one-man show given a week earlier by John Malkovich.

Buenos Aires’ Teatro Colón, opened in 1908, is considered one of the world’s finest concert venues. Its 2,500 seats were sold out within hours of tickets going on sale for Pacino’s show, despite the high prices. Both nights attracted politicians, actors and celebrities, among them Norma Aleandro. Pacino closed his visit to Argentina with his Argentinean partner Lucila Polak with an event at the home of the US ambassador to Argentina, Noah Mamet.

English version by Nick Lyne.